Jorge Prelorán Collection Reading Room

Prelorán's creative energy was seemingly limitless. After a lifetime of filmmaking, he began working in a new medium, creating a series of 31 image-rich digital books, Nos = Otros (Sages Among Us). Each book presents the personal story of someone devoted to a creative pursuit. The books celebrate teachers, painters, writers, filmmakers, photographers, farmers, and artisans, all seeking to express themselves through their work.

Drawing from interviews and using archival materials such as photographs, drawings, and written texts, often provided by subjects, Prelorán created these books to inspire younger generations to pursue their career dreams. At the end of his life, he was in the process of developing a course curriculum to use the books in two ways: first, to teach about the value of cultural diversity; and second, to train students in gathering oral histories and transforming them into visual and textual narratives. His dream was to inspire students to create their own books to document their experiences.

Several book subjects were first profiled in Prelorán's films, including Hermógenes Cayo, presented above. Cayo passed away in 1968, decades before the book was made, so Prelorán collaborated with Cayo's son, Pedro, to tell the story of this singular man.